30 November 2011

Teijin Limited will establish the first pilot plant for fully integrated production of carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) components from carbon fiber on the premises of its Matsuyama Factory in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. The new plant will feature Teijin’s mass production technology for CFRTP components, which significantly reduces cycle times required for molding composite products to less than a minute (earlier post), enabling rapid production of various prototypes and performance evaluation tests.

Construction of the new plant will begin shortly, with operations expected to commence in mid-2012. The new plant will enable Teijin to further accelerate its commercialization of CFRTP components for mass-produced automobiles and other industrial uses. Capital expenditure for the establishment of the pilot plant will total over two billion yen (US$25.7 million).

Teijin’s proprietary mass production technology for CFRTP enables the integrated production of carbon fiber to composite products within one minute, the ideal tact time required by automakers for mass-produced vehicles, according to the company. The weight-reduction technology is expected to find a wide range of applications in addition to automobiles, where certain levels of structural strength are required. CFRTP components are also highly recyclable, as technically its thermoplastic resins can be converted into desired shapes when heated.

To introduce this cutting-edge technology to automakers, Teijin developed an electric-vehicle concept car earlier this year featuring a body structure made entirely of CFRTP components and weighing only 47 kilograms—or roughly one-fifth the weight of a conventional automobile body structure.

TT...we all paid around $5k for our first PC and large flat screen TV a few years ago. Both are now available at 1/10 that price. That same thing will happen with light weight composites auto bodies, wheels and frames and future much improved batteries.

At 1/5 the weight, this is as real breakthrough for electrified vehicles. Even with current primitive batteries, a very light weight vehicle could go 500+ Km on a single charge. With future improved batteries, EVs built with composites will go 1000+ Km between charges and will push ICEVs to the museums.